Reunited
by michellephoenix275
Summary: It's been 20 years since Allison and Ezekiel left Eden to spread the cure, and now they are reunited with their families. Where do they go from here? What could possibly go wrong? Rated M for lemon. **The Blood of Eden series and its characters belong to Julie Kagawa, not to me.
1. Chapter 1

AUTHOR'S NOTE

PLEASE READ

I wanted to put this in here just in case some of you reading this haven't read the entire trilogy and were just looking for some more of Allison and Zeke. The following story contains many, many, _many_ spoilers for all three books. This takes place 20 years after the end of the series and picks up where it left off. The next chapter is really just a recap of the story so far, so if you don't care about spoilers, but haven't finished the books, you may want to read the recap to get caught up to the story. If you have finished the series, you could get away with just reading the first two tiny paragraphs of the recap chapter. That is the only new thing, but even that is not so important, just setting the scene, so you could probably skip those as well.

That said, I hope you like my take on what happens next. Enjoy, my pretties! And, please, if you like what you see, or want something special to happen, or just want to tell me I misspelled 'forest' (which, fair warning, I most likely will; have been since I was seven), review! I love getting feedback on my stories.


	2. RecapPrologue

I smiled as I gunned the motor of the bike under me. Zeke's arms wrapped tightly around my waist as he pressed against my back. I felt his lips kiss my neck, just under my ear. "You ready?" I asked.

"Yeah, vampire girl." His voice was quiet and contented. "Let's go home." I grin and the bike shoots forward into the night, leaving behind the vampire city we had just exited, the iron gate clanging shut.

My name is Allison Sekemoto. I am a vampire—a Master vampire. The sweet, beautiful blond-haired boy behind me is Ezekiel Crosse. He is also a vampire. Together we have been traveling the lands for almost twenty years, bringing the new-found cure for Rabidism to the vampires and humans in cities and compounds and tiny farmhouses alike. You see, twenty years ago, humans and vampires were on the brink of extinction. Humans were preyed upon. They were food, not just for the obvious vampires, but also for the species of undead monsters known as Rabids, whose only goal was eating and tearing flesh from bone. So, for their protection, vampires rounded up humans and built these walled cities, where human basically became cattle. I was from one of these vampire cities, a place called New Covington. I was what they called an Un-Registered, meaning I was not under the vampires' thumb. It meant I lived on the fringes of the city and scavenged for food and shelter and territory like a rat. Until, one day, I was caught outside the walls of the city, at night, by a horde of Rabids. In order to save my friend, I sacrificed myself, letting the Rabids tear me to pieces and leave me for dead, bleeding out on the street. That's how Kanin found me.

Kanin…

Kanin gave me a choice: Die as a human, come back as a Rabid, and let him kill me; let him kill me as a human so that I wouldn't come back; let him try to turn me into a vampire, only for me to become a Rabid, and let him kill me; or let him actually turn me into a vampire. You have to understand. I had lived so long with my only thought being to _survive_ , just to make it to the next day; I didn't want to die. So I chose to become a monster. Kanin taught me how to be a vampire. More than that, he taught me how _not_ to let my demon overtake me. Yes, all vampires were monsters, but what kind of monster we were was up to each of us. My time with Kanin was cut short, though, by a psychotic, murdering, evil bastard by the name of Sarren. Sarren was a ghost from Kanin's past, and he had made it his mission to ruin Kanin's life and destroy the world.

Kanin was a Master Vampire, meaning he was one of the stronger, more powerful, scarcer vampires of the world. Only Masters can create other Masters. When the human population had begun to dwindle thanks to a virus called Red Lung, he had betrayed vampire-kind by revealing them to the human scientists and turning over vampires to them to experiment on, trying to find a cure for this virus. But something went wrong, and those vampires became the first Rabids, and escaped. Kanin blamed himself for everything that happened in the century or so that followed, as did the other vampires, and Sarren, one of the vampires Kanin had turned over to the scientists.

Sarren separated me from my Sire, with the help of my friend's betrayal, and sent me on a lonely journey into the wilderness, far from everything I had known, where I wandered for weeks. I found Zeke and his group then, in an abandoned town. Well, that's where I found Caleb, an adorable six-year-old that welcomed me with open arms and big puppy-dog eyes. _Zeke_ found _me._ And leveled a gun at my face, the first time we met. He and this band of humans, led by a no-nonsense preacher named Jebbadiah Crosse, Zeke's adopted father, were traveling the country in search of Eden, a supposedly safe compound—Rabid-free, vampire-free, and safe from harm. I don't really know for certain why I stayed, but I did, following them. Jeb didn't like me. Ruth, this girl who had it bad for Zeke, didn't like me. And I had to keep the fact that I was a vampire a secret, which was incredibly difficult. But I stayed. Somewhere along the way, I fell hard for the preacher's son, and he fell for me. Then I screwed up. I had been desperate, and fed on an injured human. I accidentally killed him, and he turned into a Rabid. That was how my secret came out, and I was ran out of the group. I almost cut bait altogether, but Kanin's words kept ringing in my head, about choosing the type of monster I was. So I followed in the shadows. That meant I was there when a raider army under the banner of Jackal, a vampire 'king' finally caught up with them. We had lost a few that night—a crazy old woman, and Zeke's best friend, Darren. Zeke swallowed his pride and his hatred of vampires long enough for the two of us to track the rest of the group back to Old Chicago, where Jackal's raiders had their base.

Jackal had apparently been searching for the group for three years because Jebbadiah Crosse was the great-grandson of the head scientist in charge of the New Covington laboratories—where Kanin had taught me how to be a vampire. Jeb had all of the scientists' research on the cure. Stubborn, stuck-up Jebbadiah was the key to curing Rabidism, and Jackal wanted that cure so that he could turn his army, his minions, into vicious, blood-thirsty vampires. We couldn't let that happen.

Zeke and I managed to free the surviving members of our party, except for Jeb. I remained behind in the burning city to find Jeb and Jackal while Zeke led the others to safety. I did end up finding them, at the top of Jackal's tower, where Jeb tried to kill me for saving his life, and where I found out that Jackal was my blood brother, turned by Kanin several years before I was. He offered to share his minions with me, to let me rule by his side, siblings united to take over the world. I declined. He ran a stake into my stomach. Surprisingly, it was Jeb who saved me, tackling the raider king out of the window into the dark, icy waters below, where he perished, but not before bestowing me with a flash-drive containing the scientists' research. I still almost died, trapped and falling into hibernation from my wounds with dawn's light creeping dangerously close to me, when Zeke returned and risked his life, feeding me his blood so I could heal. I almost killed him, and he almost let me. We both gave in that day, admitting our feelings for each other, embracing each other.

We led the remainder of our group to Eden, with a few bumps along the way, fighting a massive horde of Rabids to the front gate. I, being a vampire, was turned away, escorted out before I ever made it onto the island. So I said my goodbyes and headed off to find my Sire.

Kanin had been captured by Sarren, tortured endlessly, skinned alive, ripped apart and pieced back together, starved to the point of insanity, and it was up to me to save him. I followed my blood tie to him—the pull that leads vampires related by blood to each other. Instead of Kanin, though, I found Jackal, who was oddly civil, for someone I had recently let plummet to his assumed death. He and I formed a shaky, untrusting team, searching laboratories and vampire cities and massacred villages for the psychopath and our Sire. Our search led us back to my own home—the labs of New Covington, and the Inner City of the vampire prince there.

That is when we discovered Sarren's evil plan.

Using the research he found in another laboratory, he had created a super virus, a mutated version of the original Red Lung, that killed not only humans, but vampires and Rabids as well, and spread faster and more easily than even Rabidism. He wanted to unleash this virus into the world, to cleanse it, as he put it. He wanted to destroy all sentient life, and he wanted Kanin and me to watch it happen, we who loved both species he was intent on killing.

Three more surprises awaited me there. The first found us in the tunnels beneath the city: Ezekiel Crosse, no longer safe behind Eden's walls and deep water, but leading a band of Un-Registereds from my old District. He was, of course, pissed to find me traveling with the vampire who had killed several of his family, including his father. But a tentative armistice was called to defeat this new threat, and Zeke and I became close again. The second found us in the Prince's tower: my old friend, Stick, the one I had died trying to save, the one who had betrayed me to the vampires who helped run me out of New Covington, had been welcomed into the vampire city for the latter, and because he could read—a skill I had taught him—was close to the Prince. The third was Kanin, imprisoned beneath the tower and mad with hunger, lost to the demon. My options were to kill him and put him out of his misery, or to enter his cell and somehow snap him out of it. I, of course, had to take the hardest route, because I couldn't just give up on him. He almost killed me, but I finally got to him.

The four of us tracked Sarren. Kanin and Zeke were infected with Requiem (the new virus). The Un-Registereds were attacked and forced to retreat to my old hideout. Jackal left us, pretending to betray us in order to gain Sarren's trust. And we had to leave a sick and dying Zeke in the back of a van. Which basically left me alone to fight him. Jackal helped to free me when I was captured by Sarren, and we fought. Jackal was left impaled, Kanin left incapacitated by the virus. Then, miracle beyond miracles, Zeke returned, and gave me enough of an advantage to chase Sarren off—short one arm. Zeke had been injected with an experimental cure before leaving Eden, which seemed to be quite effective. We used it on Kanin to save his life. And, for the first time in a long time, we had hope again—a cure for Requiem. We gave it to the Prince and made plans for Kanin, Zeke and me to return to Eden to help the scientists there with the cure; we would leave Jackal behind. Zeke and I finally had a chance to be together. But that night, Stick betrayed me yet again, leading Zeke to Sarren. Stick died for his efforts. And I was forced to hear as Sarren tortured Zeke for the location of Eden, forced to listen to the final breaths, final heartbeats, of the one I loved.

Kanin, Jackal and I searched for Sarren. I was so close to becoming the monster I swore Zeke would never see, lost in grief and rage, ready for vengeance. Sarren led us on a chase, straight to Old Chicago, where I learned just how deep his sadistic streak went: He hadn't killed Zeke. He had Turned him. Not just that, though, he didn't stop there. He had made Zeke a Childer, basically scraping all of Zeke's personality out and remolding his mind into a psychotic, blood-thirsty sadistic bastard just like the grand-psycho himself. They had taken over the Raider city, turning the minions against Jackal. Zeke and I fought, and I almost killed him. I wanted to, needed to. Zeke had never wanted to be a vampire. Instead, I shared my blood with him, and took his blood, snapping him back to himself. He was broken, tried to kill himself, but I wouldn't let him. Jackal takes control over his city again, and the four of us set out to Eden to find Sarren, stop his Requiem, and rip him limb from limb.

We arrived too late to save Eden. Sarren had sailed a barge to the island, full of Rabids. Most of the army was decimated, a great number of citizens massacred. He forced the scientists to recreate Requiem and to make it immune to the cure we had discovered. He then infected the Rabids, loaded them back onto the barge, and began sailing it back to the checkpoint where the remainder of the population of Eden took shelter. Jackal was infected with Requiem, as was I, but we chased him to the barge. Zeke left us when Sarren dumped Caleb and his sister Bethany into the waters of Lake Eerie, trapped in a net. Kanin and I fought Sarren. Kanin managed to almost cut Sarren's head off and dump him off the barge. We assumed him dead. And discovered the key to a real cure—to Red Lung, to Rabidism, to Requiem—it was the blood of a Master vampire, combined with the experimental cure given to Zeke in Eden. Meaning, that the cure was running through Kanin's veins. We couldn't stop the barge in time to keep it from running aground close enough to the humans to avoid infection, so he sacrificed himself, letting the Rabids tear him apart to spread the cure. He told me I was his last legacy; I was now a Master vampire, and I held the cure within me, as well. He had created this plague, and he would end it.

Zeke found me half-starved, broken, lying on the deck and grieving the loss of my sire. He had saved the two children. We realized we had another problem: The barge was still full of Rabids, even if they weren't infected with Requiem any longer. It would still be a massacre unless we could stop it. Sarren had destroyed the controls, though, and cut the anchor. Our only option was to drop one of the metal containers from the ship into the water, attached to the anchor chain, and hope it was enough to stop the barge.

We were so close to accomplishing this when we discovered that Sarren was very alive, and very pissed. I stabbed Sarren through the heart, going through Zeke's stomach to get there. While he was distracted, I cut off his head, this time making sure he was dead, and forced the container over the edge of the ship. Jackal returned, having warned the humans on shore of the threat. Zeke and I almost couldn't recover from our wounds, both starting to fall into hibernation, but Jackal and the humans saved us, giving us coolers of blood baggies. Immediately, I was taken to the scientists, my blood drawn, and a cure synthesized. Eden celebrated, and Jackal was saved. He left Eden, setting off to find something new. Last I heard, he was planning on heading to Europe to meet other vampires. Zeke and I stayed for a while, helping clear Eden of Rabids once more, and cleaning up the city, helping them rebuild. We were finally able to be together, and we had forever before us. Then we, too, left, bringing several vials of the cure with us. We were going to bring the cure to all of the people. As it stood, Eden and Eden alone even knew of its existence. We needed to travel—possibly forever—to spread the word. We were going to eradicate Rabidism, and hopefully free the humans from the current near-slave status the vampires had forced them into to keep the races from dying.

That is what we have been doing for the last twenty years. But now we were heading back to Eden. It was time to reassess the situation, figure out where to head next, find out what the situation was back at Eden itself. We were headed home at last.


	3. Return

I still loved the feeling of wind whipping my hair around my face as the bike flew down the road. I felt free. Zeke's presence at my back kept me warm and tied firmly to the ground.

The roads were much cleaner than they were twenty years ago, the first time we drove them. Dead cars, had been removed, trees cut back, signs fixed. _Eden 6 miles_. The next one said. My eyes widened when I caught sight of it. So, the sanctuary's location was no longer a secret. Interesting. The town where Zeke and I had lost Ruth, just before Eden, was cleared out, as well. The cars were mysteriously gone, the windows of the shops and homes boarded up, the doors fixed. I could see signs of habitation, even, flowers in a planter in a windowsill, a field of corn behind the houses, a few goats walking in fenced-in yards. It made my heart soar to see it; we were really making a difference. "Six miles!" I yelled back, against the wind.

"I saw." Zeke murmured in my ear, nibbling at my earlobe. I giggled.

"You know it's not usually smart to distract the driver?" I called. His only response was to press closer and move his lips down to where my neck met my shoulder. I sighed and let my head fall to the side, stretching out for him. I eyed the eastern horizon warily, noticing how the sky was lightening, and slowed the bike before we left the town behind, pulling to a stop. Zeke followed my gaze and sighed. "We won't make it there tonight, Zeke."

He nodded. "Find an empty house?" He asked, a little hopeful. Even after all these years of being a vampire, he still hated being forced to dig into the earth to sleep.

I patted his hand comfortingly as I shook my head. Did you see how the town was taken care of. People are living there. We can't risk it." At the least, they would find us sleeping like the dead in the middle of the day. At the worst, they would force us into the sun or stake us in our sleep. Zeke nodded, and I turned the bike off, pulling it off the road and behind some brush. Zeke and I headed into the trees on the outskirts of the town, into the darkness. We tried not to leave much of a trail. We had dealt with a lot of scared humans in the recent past; we knew what they might do to two strange vampires. Just as the sun was starting to peek over the horizon, we stopped in a clearing and pressed together for a quick kiss, hugging each other close and letting the earth swallow us.

I woke to the feeling of Zeke's hands sliding down my spine to squeeze my butt. I smiled into his chest and gripped his shirt in my hands. The earth was cool and dark and safe. One of his hands slid lower, gripping my thigh and pulling it up, my leg hooking up over his hip. I raised my head and pressed my lips to his as he ground his hips against mine. Without breaking the kiss, I began to dig upward, toward the sky and the air, pulling him with me. We broke free of the dirt, and he stood, picking me up. I wrapped my legs around his hips, and he pressed me against the trunk of a tree, kissing down to my throat. I threw my head back, eyes snapping open, gasping in pleasure.

We weren't alone.

I pulled on Zeke's hair, pulling him off of my skin, and pushed him a couple of inches back so I could stand on my own. Three men stood a few feet away looking at us with open mouths. Two were armed with rifles, the other with a bow. Three squirrels were strung up and slung over the archer's shoulder. "Zeke," I hissed, taking his arms and turning him around. He hissed in surprise and bared his fangs when he caught sight of them. Hunters, I assumed.

"Fuck! Vampires!" One yelled, swinging his rifle to aim at us. I held my hands up, elbowing Zeke to do the same even as he reached for the handle of the machete on his back. My own hands itched to reach for my katana, but I stayed still.

"Wait," I said, trying to keep my voice calm. We aren't here to hurt anyone, just passing through." The archer dropped his bow and ran back in the direction of the town. I could hear him yelling for reinforcements.

"Allison," Zeke growled, moving an inch to the left.

"Don't, Zeke," I growled back, reaching a hand to rest on his shoulder to keep him in place. I could hear both men turn the safety off.

"Allison Sekemoto?" The first one asked, straightening a little. He was tall and slim, and very comfortable with his rifle.

I cocked my head. "How do you know my name?"

He ignored me, eyes moving to Zeke. "Ezekiel Crosse?" Zeke nodded stiffly. The man sighed, and I saw his muscles relax as he lowered the rifle, reaching a hand out to move the other man's away as well. "These two are citizens of Eden." He said with authority. I felt my own muscles uncoil with relief.

"Impossible." The other man sputtered. "They're vamps!" He was short and heavy, built more for wrestling than to wield a gun.

"You know the story about when Eden got overrun. These two saved 'em all." Both men looked at us with awe, and I shuffled a little. I rested a hand on Zeke's back, feeling him relax as well.

"Is this town an outpost of Eden?" I asked with curiosity in my voice.

The tall one nodded. "One of six. We call this place Haven. It was the first to be cleared out once we reinforced the checkpoint." I turned my head as I heard several people headed towards us at a run.

"Look, we are really just passing through. We are headed for Eden. We aren't going to hurt anyone here." I said, a little nervously, hoping the others would listen to this one.

He nodded, smiling. "Good to hear. Name's Joshua. I'm not gonna let them get to you." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the approaching horde of humans. "In fact, if you want, I'm gonna have 'em escort you to the gates." About half a dozen men fanned out behind him, aiming various weapons at us. I felt my skin tingle as I saw that one of them carried a flame-thrower. But Joshua held up a hand, and the others froze, looking at him for orders. "There's no problem here boys. Just a couple 'a heroes." I would have blushed if I could. "This here's Allison Sekemoto and Ezekiel Crosse, saviors of Eden, and we are _not_ gonna be known as the town that killed these two." The men all lowered their weapons, and Zeke and I were suddenly surrounded by awe-struck humans. They all wanted to know what it was like, how we defeated Sarren, if we really fought of a thousand Rabids and a hundred vampires, just the two of us. We weren't sure how to answer, not used to this kind of reception. I mean, we were vampires, so humans generally either steered clear of us or tried to murder us. When it came to vampires, I was Kanin's precious daughter, and Zeke was the offspring of Sarren; we didn't get a warm welcome. When they realized they weren't going to get much out of us, they backed down, but still hovered close-by.

I turned back to Joshua. "We were really planning on getting to Eden tonight, with enough time to catch up with the mayor and Dr. Richardson. So, we should be going soon. Thank you for your offer, but an escort is unnecessary. We remember the way." Yes, we remembered the way. Memories of Rabids closing in, leaving Zeke by the van to die, the feeling of hopelessness as we were cornered and outnumbered. I pushed them away.

Joshua nodded. "Alright. You shouldn't run into any others on the road there, but I can't make any promises. Just tell 'em who you are; no one should bother you then. Good luck." I took Zeke's hand and gave Joshua a smile, pulling us to the bike. We uncovered it and pushed it onto the road. Zeke climbed on behind me, and I started the engine, feeling my spirits raise as it roared to life. We waved as we took off.

"That was weird." Zeke said in my ear. I nodded.

He pressed closer, and I could feel him still hard against me, reminding me that we had been in the middle of something. Halfway there, at the three-mile marker, I pulled the bike to a sudden stop and shut it off, not bothering to pull it off the road. Without hesitation, I yanked Zeke off the bike and pulled him into the trees. I pressed my back against a tree trunk and pulled his face down to mine, my hands roaming over his chest, feeling the hard muscles under his shirt. He caught on quickly. Our weapons were thrown down in seconds, and he reached for the buckle of my belt, practiced fingers freeing me from my dark jeans as I unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off his shoulders. I reached for the hem of my own shirt, pulling it over my head as he dropped his pants, and we pressed together again, nothing between us. I jumped up, wrapping my legs around his waist, my arms around his neck, and he smiled against my lips. His hard shaft rubbed against my wet core, sending electric jolts through my body and making me gasp his name. He thrust up into me, and I threw my head back, crying out in pleasure. He growled, thrusting harder against me, trying to get deeper. I felt his lips on my throat, felt his fangs brush the skin, and nodded. He bit down, and my hands tangled in his hair, holding him to me. I leaned down and bit into his neck, hard, wanting to be one with him again. I felt every piece of him fall into place with every piece of me, body, heart and soul. Our blood thrummed together, our pleasure cresting together as we shuddered in each other's arms. Every time we came together, it felt like the first time we were seeing each other. I craved it, this intimacy I couldn't share with anyone else. We knew every inch of the other's soul, better than we knew our own.

I pulled my fangs free and rested my head on his shoulder. He mirrored me, and we stood like that for a moment, readjusting to the world around us. I pulled back and kissed his cheek, unwrapping my legs and falling to the ground, reaching for my clothes. He pulled me back for a long, lingering kiss. "Thanks, vampire girl." He sighed happily.

"Any time, preacher boy." I murmured back, slipping my shirt over my head. It took us a good ten minutes to get dressed again, both of us stopping to kiss every few seconds. But we eventually made it back to the bike, happily sated and smiling.

We slowed to a halt as we saw the new wire fence that wrapped around the heavy walls of the checkpoint. The watch tower was lit, and soldiers patrolled the area. This was new. The new fence was a good ten feet tall, topped with razor wire wound close together. Three gates sat heavily guarded, half a dozen men at each one—one on the road, and one on either far side. A handful of Rabids were slinking close to one of them, only to be shot down the second they came in range. I watched as one man slipped out of the gate and poured something over the bodies and lit a match, dropping it. The bodies burst into bright flames that made me flinch, even though we were several hundred yards away. "Huh," I said. "Looks like Eden's doing okay for itself."

Zeke nodded. "Yeah. That's great. I was afraid that, with them advertising their location, they might have more issues. Glad I was wrong."

I gunned the engine again, and we shot towards the gate, stopping a few feet away and dismounting the bike, walking towards a tall, dark-skinned man in green and gray camouflage. "We're citizens of Eden." I said firmly.

The man looked us up and down. "I've never seen you before." He said suspiciously.

I smiled disarmingly. "We've been away for a long time." I replied, letting my fangs show. The man's hand flashed down to grip a handgun holstered to his hip. "Allison Sekemoto, Ezekiel Crosse. Dr. Richardson will vouch for us; we'll wait." The man's eyes widened.

"No need, I recognize you from my wife's drawings. Open the gate, boys, and tell the mayor that Allison and Ezekiel have returned!" I gave Zeke a curious shrug as I remounted the bike and drove through the gate, following the open-topped Jeep into the compound. We'd learn soon enough.


	4. Mayor

I was impressed with how much had changed since we left Eden. The walls were newly patched up, with more guards. The jeep wasn't the only vehicle; several other cars, vans and jeeps rested along the inner wall, and a truck with a large, metal tank behind it sat nearby with a fence around it to keep people away—gasoline. I saw three or four people zipping in through a new gate, further down the wall, on bikes of their own, laughing and throwing insults back at each other. The roads, instead of the dirt we remembered, were paved with stones, and small trees grew along them, leading to the hospital, and, I saw, to a dock. My hands clenched on the handle bars of the bike as I saw an all-too-familiar barge at anchor there. It was cleaned up, freshly painted, and a new anchor had been found and attached, but I would recognize it anywhere; that was where my Sire died, where Zeke, Jackal and I almost died, where Sarren finally met his bloody end. I could see people milling about, families with women and children, so I assumed it was some sort of ferry back and forth between the checkpoint and the island.

I was ready to turn down the path leading to the dock, but the Jeep continued toward the hospital. I had a sickening sense of déjà vu twisted in my stomach, and I frowned. The last time we'd come to Eden had been right after Sarren unleashed a barge full of Rabids onto an unsuspecting island of humans; we had met the mayor at the hospital then, as well. The general attitude of the humans around us told me this was definitely not a similar situation, but I was uneasy just the same.

We parked the bike next to the Jeep at the side of the building. I looked back at it, regretting leaving it behind. I doubted I would see it again until we left the city.

"Name's Zachariah Evans, by the way. Pleased to meet you." The man we'd followed said, holding the front door open for us to step through. We got a few glances, a couple double takes. I heard the whispers start around: There were vampires in the checkpoint. It wasn't difficult to tell what we were; we stood too straight and walked too steadily, especially given how bloody and torn to hell our clothes were. We wore all black—black jeans, black shirt, black coat, black combat boots—and were probably wearing way too much for the hot summer day to be normal. Plus, we were armed not with guns, but with blades that required inhuman strength to do much damage for long out in the open. So humans, especially humans like those in the hospital that were used to looking for signs of weakness or illness or life from other humans, could tell us apart almost instantly.

Zachariah led us through a maze of stairs, halls and doorways. I tried to map it in my mind. We weren't going to the same place we'd gone before. We were two floors up and at the rear. I could smell blood tainted with antiseptic, and something else, something strange. As we rounded a corner, I could hear the cries of a newborn—no, two newborns—and a woman in great pain. My confusion grew.

I felt Zeke tense up in surprise. "Is this the maternity ward?" He asked. I could hear awe in his voice. At my questioning look, he embellished, "The wing of the hospital dedicated to birthing children." Now the smells and sounds made sense. I had heard stories of such a place, back in my Fringer days, and during my endless questions with Kanin at the hospital outside New Covington, but there was little need in most places; there weren't enough humans, and certainly not enough _pregnant_ humans to warrant the existence of one.

"Sure is. Mayor's through here." Zachariah answered, turning down a hallway labeled "waiting room."

"Daddy, is Mommy okay?" I heard a child's voice ask. We turned the corner, and I saw a man kneeling before a little girl that looked to be around 6. She looked concerned. I figured the screaming woman was her mother, and she was in the midst of giving birth, I would wager.

"Yes, Ruth," The man answered. Zeke and I both froze, mouths falling open. We recognized that name for sure; Ruth had been in love with Zeke, one of his band of hopefuls traveling for Eden, but she never made it. She sacrificed her life to save her little brother, Caleb, from a Rabid attack during our escape from Old Chicago. "She's okay. She's bringing your baby sister or brother into the world." Something about his voice was familiar, like an echo from a memory.

"I hope it's a sister. I always wanted a sister. 'Sides, boys are weird." The man laughed a familiar laugh and ruffled his daughter's hair.

"You know what, rug rat? I hope it's a sister, too. Then I'll have three beautiful girls waiting on me at home."

I heard Zeke make a strangled choking sound. The man must have heard it too, because he turned his head and stood, an easy smile on his face. His eyes went wide, and he just stared for a moment, before he raced forward, vaulting over a row of chairs in his haste, and threw his arms around Zeke in a hug.

"Caleb?!" I said incredulously. He was all grown up, older, with the hint of a beard, but there was no hiding those big puppy dog eyes and that messy hair; this was the same kid I had met all those years ago, the first friendly face I'd seen since being run out of New Covington and wandering alone for weeks.

"Zee! Allie!" He cried, laughing. Zeke and I couldn't help laughing with him as he turned his hug to me. "I can't believe you're here! I haven't seen you in _years_." He glared at us accusingly, but his grin dulled the bite of his gaze. "You never sent word of your travels; we half-feared you were captured by some Prince or killed by raiders."

"Ha!" I barked out, giving him a cocky grin. "Do you really think raiders could get us? And you know I'm a Master vampire, right? I technically could be a Prince if I wanted. They aren't _allowed_ to touch me." Caleb laughed and enveloped us both in a hug again.

"Mr. Mayor." Zachariah cleared his throat, standing firmly, hands behind his back.

Caleb turned to him. "Zach." He replied. My eyes widened, and Zeke laughed.

"Mayor?" Zeke said through his mirth. "They made you mayor?"

Caleb studiously ignored him. "Thank you for escorting our friends here. I will hear their report and debrief you later. In fact, why don't you and your wife come over for dinner tonight at my place. Well," he looked sideways at us for a moment. "Make it after-dinner drinks."

Zachariah nodded. "I'd be honored, sir. Nine o'clock?" Caleb nodded. "Thank you, sir. I'll go spread the word of who the strange newcomers are, so we don't have any trouble."

Caleb nodded. "Yes, good idea. We wouldn't want someone getting the wrong idea." Zachariah saluted and walked away briskly. Only once he disappeared down the hall did Caleb's shoulders relax as he turned back to us. I heard the woman scream again, and saw Caleb's head jerk worriedly toward the sound.

"She's your wife?" I asked, gesturing toward the room where the woman was giving birth.

Caleb smiled. "Sidney. You're going to love her. She's so sweet, and full of fire."

"So you're all grown up, married, a father, and mayor." Zeke said, eyeing the boy he had carried for since infancy appraisingly.

"Yeah, it all just kind of happened like that. A few years after you left, Bethany and I joined the first Expeditionary Party, and we began reclaiming land, destroying Rabids, spreading the cure to any group we came across and offering them shelter. Since the two of us were closest to you two, we became the so called 'vampire experts.' Then, they found out we were hardened by our lives before, and we were good in a fight. Really good. And we were the best scavengers. We could pick an entire town clean in a matter of hours. So, the two of us moved up the food chain pretty fast. People needed hope, needed to know we were making progress, and the two of us became the faces of that progress. I guess one thing led to another, and I was voted in the year before last." Caleb scratched the back of his head and looked down sheepishly.

I smiled. I couldn't help the swell of pride I felt. I had had a hand in raising that man, and now he was in charge of the free human population. "Congratulations." I said.

Caleb smiled, then shook himself. "Right. Mayor. Report?" He asked, sinking into a chair.

Zeke stepped forward. "We traveled back to New Covington, convinced Prince Salazar to let us use the city as our base for a while, and spread out from there. We covered everything within a 3-night ride from there, then moved east for about a 6-night's ride and repeated the process. We circled New Covington, and the surrounding areas, and worked our way back here. The only place within that area that we did not cover is Old Chicago."

Caleb nodded. "Probably for the best. It's complete anarchy. A human has finally reached the top of the pack, calls himself the new Raider King. Thinks he can take Jackal's place, because he got his hands on two vials of the cure. According to our reports, there's supposed to be some big contest in the city in the next few days to see who gets the second vial."

I frowned. "I don't like the sound of that."

"Neither do we," Mayor Caleb answered, crossing his arms. His daughter came to sit beside him, leaning against his shoulder. "Which is why we've spread the word that from dusk tomorrow until further notice there will be extra guards not just here, but at all of our outposts as well, and a strictly-enforced curfew. No one will be leaving unauthorized."

I nodded. A thought struck me, and a grin turned up the corners of my lips. "You know, that sounds like the perfect bait to draw in a certain smart-ass Vampire King." I said.

Zeke looked at me warily. He still despised my blood brother. We had run into him only once, when visiting Old D.C. to give the cure to Prince Azura in person, as thanks for helping us; Jackal had been visiting at the same time. However, Zeke had given up his goal of murdering him. He knew that I cared for Jackal, despite all the evil, messed-up things he'd done to me and to our family in the past, so hurting Jackal meant hurting me. "You don't think…"

"Oh yes," I answered. I couldn't believe it, but I was actually looking forward to seeing that asshole again. "I definitely think Jackal will be there. And I think we should go meet him. Maybe we can help clear out some of the mess there." I gave him a predatory smile, and he caught my drift. We were both hungry. We'd fed recently, but had been sustaining ourselves on the bare minimum, since we were taking from willing humans, mostly from vampire cities and large compounds. My demon perked up at the thought of the feast that awaited us in Old Chicago.


	5. Surprise

We didn't travel to the city that night. Instead, we finished giving our report—how many cities we had visited, who we had told of Eden, which vampire Princes knew of the island's existence and what their approach had been. So far, no Princes had bothered Eden's residents, letting their finding of the cure be their saving grace. Caleb promised a tour of both the checkpoint and the island as soon as we had returned, but they didn't have time for it then; dawn was fast approaching.

With a wave of his hand he summoned a guard to watch his daughter, then led us out of the hospital. "Come with me. I have something to show you."

"We need to make it fast, Caleb." Zeke said. His eyes flicked toward the ceiling. I knew he could feel the sluggishness as the sun rose. I linked my arm through his and leaned my head sleepily against his shoulder.

"This won't take long; trust me." He glanced back over his shoulder with a smile. He led us out of the hospital through the back door, ignoring the way the doctors and nurses scurried around corners and ducked back behind counters as we passed. We followed a stone path through some trees for a minute. Just as the hospital was out of sight, the tree line broke, and I raised my head. There before us was a new building, something rare and wonderful in this world where everything was crumbling and decaying. It wasn't a large building, by far, made of brick. Something about it looked off, and, as we made our way to it, it suddenly hit me: there were no windows. There was a thick wooden door, the only entrance we could see. Caleb didn't even pause, opening the door with a key he pulled from his belt. He stepped into the darkness within, reaching to the side to flip a switch. Light flickered on, filling the building, and he stepped aside for us to see.

Together, Zeke and I stepped inside, eyes wide as we looked around. We were standing in a furnished living area, couches and cushions scattered around, a worn rug on the floor. In one corner was a glass cooler, in which hung a few bags of blood. There was a hallway directly in front of us, with three doors on either side. I broke away from Zeke and walked down the hall, pushing open one door after another. Each room housed a cot or a bed, a bookshelf, and a dresser, armoire or wooden chest.

"What is this place?" I mused aloud. I noticed at the end of the hall, there was a rug on the floor. Shifting it, I saw a trap door. I looked back at Caleb.

"This," He gestured around. "Was my idea. There's another just like it on the island." Zeke had a strange look on his face. "It was built specifically with vampires in mind, in case you or any other vampire sought refuge with us." My mouth dropped open. "Through there is a ladder to the basement, which has another six rooms, another living area, and a shower room with three separate showers. Oh, and an escape tunnel." He shrugged. "I figured the idea of inviting vampires into our sanctuary wouldn't sit well with everyone; you know how humans get. I thought it would be safer if you had some way to run. The tunnel goes under the wall to a locked door on the other side, fenced in so that Rabids can't get close."

"You did all of this?" I said, gazing around. "For vampires?" Caleb nodded. "I'm impressed."

"Only two people currently have keys to this place, and only two people know of the second exit—me, and the leader of the Free Army." He said. He pulled out a ring of identical keys, each on a small ring of their own, and pried two away, holding one each out to Zeke and me. "And now you two. Don't lose them, and I recommend you do not give them away to someone else." He glanced down at a watch on his wrist and nodded. "Right. Sunrise will be any minute now. I'll let you two get settled. Please, lock the door behind me." He frowned. "I meant it when I said not everyone was on my side on this. There are still those who fear vampires in Eden."

"For good reason," muttered Zeke. I nodded solemnly. "Thank you, Rug rat." He said, ruffling Caleb's hair. Caleb laughed and shoved his arm away, walking back out of the house.

"If I don't see you again before you leave for Old Chicago, good luck. I'll let the gate guards know you may be returning with company." He said. He paused and gave me a serious look. "Just be careful. I remember what Jackal used to be, Allie." I flinched in sympathy. Jackal had torn apart his family, too, when he was just a child.

"If he is back in his old ways," I said firmly, "We will end him." No matter what I felt, if Jackal had returned to the monster he had been when we'd first met, when he'd staked me and thrown me from his tower, I wouldn't let him hurt anyone else. Caleb nodded, satisfied, and turned his back, walking back toward the hospital. Zeke closed the door, and clicked the lock, the only sound in the room for a minute. He turned the lights off, not needing them to see.

Before I could ask him how he was feeling, I felt him slam into me, pinning me to the door of one of the rooms. I laughed, and grabbed his face between my hands, pulling his lips against mine and wrapping my legs around his waist. "Zeke," I warned playfully. "We only have a few minutes until sunset."

"I only need a few minutes, vampire girl." He grinned against my throat and reached around me, opening the door and walking us inside the dark bedroom and to the bed. He shut the door back and paused, deliberately locking the door. "I'd forgotten how great locks were," He murmured. Then he turned back to me, nibbling on my neck. "They let me love you without having to keep you covered up." I gasped as he pulled my coat off my shoulders and yanked my shirt over my head before I could respond. He threw me down on the bed, separating us so that he, too, could take off his clothes. He picked up my katana, and hung it in an armoire along with his combat vest and hip holster, while I wriggled out of my dirty jeans and combat boots and underwear, leaving me bare before him. I was covered in road dust and old blood, but Zeke didn't care. His eyes raked me over and growled low in his throat before pouncing on me, just as naked as I was. I knew he wasn't warm, knew that his heart didn't beat and blood didn't flush his skin with heat. But fire trailed after his fingers as he touched me, and his kisses felt like brands on my skin. I gasped and arched my back into him, and he growled again, grabbing my hands and holding them on either side of my head on the bed, positioning himself between my legs. We both could feel the influence of the sun; it had just risen. We were both fading fast, and he knew he had to finish soon. He thrust hard forward and wasted no time, not pausing to savor the feeling, pounding me against the mattress and making me moan and cry his name, again and again. He roared as he came, and my voice followed his, our demons taking over for an instant. Right then, we weren't Alison and Ezekiel; we were animals, coming together for nature's purest dance, finding bliss. We were vampires, and for once we weren't scared of that, of the knowledge that we could lose control and destroy cities and civilizations and empires. He fell to the side, his head pressed into my shoulder. We weren't breathing hard—we weren't breathing at all—and we weren't sweaty like we should have been. But we felt what we had done. Sighing happily, I turned into him and pressed my forehead against his chest, wrapping one arm around his torso. We didn't bother pulling the blankets over us; we wouldn't be cold. And we dropped into sleep as one tangled being.

I awoke first the next morning, as I always did. Since I was first turned, I had been practicing my control, staying awake as long as I could, waking up as early as possible. I wasn't nearly as capable as Kanin, and probably not even as capable as Jackal, but I was getting there. Zeke had had less practice than I. I lay in his arms and considered our position.

We were vampires; we were monsters. We knew this. We had accepted this as fact long ago. The world would always see us as demons. Even this house, that was built as a peace offering for us, was a testament to this. We were far away from humans, with secret keys and an escape hatch because humans may try to stake us in our sleep or burn us from our home. I knew that was why there was no wood used to build this house; it was all stone and brick. The beams overhead were wood, but you could not get to them from the outside. Even the vampires knew what we all were; it is why there was such a rigid hierarchy amongst us. The princes ruled the cities. Then came the masters that didn't rule a city—like me. Then the type 2 vampires, like Zeke and Jackal, bitten in by masters, then the type 3 vampires—the mongrels, as the vampires called them, that were bitten in by type 2 vampires or by what the other vamps deemed 'lower masters.' This made sure vampires knew their place. Every vampire near another's territory was supposed to make themselves known to that vampire. You had to have permission to roam another vampire's territory, or risk being torn to shreds, staked and left in hibernation for decades in a dungeon, burned alive, or left to the sun. Each city had to be a certain distance from any other, so as to avoid territorial wars. Killing another vampire was a serious offense, had they not broken some law. It is probably why Zeke and I had lived so long. We were, after all, the offspring of two of the most notorious criminals in vampire history. Kanin had betrayed his kind to the humans in the hopes of destroying a plague that had nearly wiped out humanity, and Sarren was a psychopath who had tried to complete the destruction of both humans and vampires with the same plague, mutated in a way we almost couldn't find a cure for. I was certain that, had we not found the cure, even with our sires both dead—and perhaps because of this—we would have been executed by the first Prince we came across.

But we were still monsters.

With Zeke, though, when we were together like this, in the peace just before sunset, alone, just the two of us in our own bubble in the world, I could forget all that, and pretend we were human, forget all the people I had torn to pieces or drained dry, all the awful things Zeke's sire had made him do. I could forget all the horrible things that scarred our souls, and just be with him. These moments filled me with peace, but also filled me with a deep longing. I didn't really want to be human; I had grown used to the power in my limbs, and I had come to an agreement with my inner demon. But I wanted what humans could have and vampires couldn't—a home, and a family. For a while, Zeke's group had been my family, when I was young, but I had never really belonged. Kanin had been my family, but he was gone. Jackal was family, but I generally swayed between being generally annoyed by him and wanting to drive a splinter of wood into his chest slowly. And I had been without a home since the death of my mother when I was a small child. I wanted for Zeke and me to be able to settle down and be a family, maybe _raise_ a family; but I knew that could never happen.

The world knew we were monsters, and we would never fully belong.

"That's a pretty serious look for so early in the evening." Zeke mumbled sleepily, shifting beside me.

"Do you regret it?" I asked softly, my voice uncharacteristically vulnerable. He looked at me with a 'be more specific' gaze. "Do you regret choosing me?" I embellished.

He frowned and cupped my face in his hand. "Never. I've been in love with you, Allie, since we stumbled into each other's paths, and because of that, we have a cure, and I am _happy_. I would never have made it to Eden without you. Caleb would be dead, and Bethany, and everyone in our group would be long dead. We wouldn't have a cure. Eden would have fallen. And I wouldn't be curled up right now with the most beautiful girl in the world."

I smiled. "But, you gave up the chance at a family, a home, a life of safety here in Eden. You could have had that if you'd stayed."

He nodded. "Maybe, for a little while, until Sarren came and killed everyone I ever loved, again. Besides, how could I ever be happy with another woman after meeting you?" I kissed his cheek. He knew exactly what I needed to hear.

"I guess I'm just a little…I don't know. Jealous?" I said, scrunching up my nose, trying to put my thoughts into words. "Seeing Caleb, all grown up, with a daughter of his own, and a wife, and a new baby—I guess it just made me realize all over again that that will never be in the cards for us."

He reached up and soothed my hair, trying to cheer me up with a grin. "Well, you can be a wife. I'm sure vampires have some sort of marriage ceremony." His grin grew wider, devilish. "Besides, just because a vampire has never had a child doesn't mean they can't. We can keep trying," He kissed my neck. "And trying," He kissed me again, an inch lower. "And trying." I laughed and pushed him away.

"Okay, okay, down, boy." I said playfully. "I get it." I felt the sun fully set and sighed, shifting out of his arms. "Come on, time to go."

"Nuh uh." Zeke said, pulling me up. "Shower first, vampire girl." He said. I smiled; we hadn't had a shower in weeks, since we'd left Old DC.

"Fine," I relented, "But a quick one. I want to get to Old Chicago before the 'festivities' start." I said the word with evident disgust. I knew what kind of 'festivities' the raiders of Old Chicago enjoyed. A favorite of theirs was feeding unsuspecting humans to hungry Rabids. I let him pull me down the hall and down the trap door. The basement was even more impressive than the main house, larger, better lit with strings of lights lining the floor and ceiling and hanging down in balls made of woven tree branches. I was impressed with the work that had gone into this place, and with the condition of all the furniture. But we didn't have time to appreciate that.

We had a raider king to dethrone.


	6. Reunion

**Chapter Five**

 ** _Reunion_**

* * *

We had left Eden as soon as we had scrubbed the dirt and gore from our skin and downed a blood bag each, knowing it wouldn't satisfy us fully—knowing our hunger would be sated as soon as we got to the city. The stars were just beginning to shine as we skirted around the hospital to our bike. I was almost surprised to find the gas tank refilled and the dust buffed off it. I was more surprised, though, at the backpack beside them that I found carried a red gas canister and a hose. Zeke just shrugged as we swung ourselves onto the motorcycle and powered toward the gate. The night was quiet. We could hear humans bustling around in the hospital, and we could hear soldiers' footsteps on the top of the wall, but it was so peaceful, like nothing bad had ever happened here.

We were met at the gate by the same soldier from before—Zachariah. He didn't question us, just ordered the guards to open the gate and let us through. He took out a flashlight and signaled to the guards at the secondary gate as well, and they pulled it open just as we sped through it, waving over our shoulders.

These humans were strange.

I pushed the bike to its limits; I was eager to get to Old Chicago, hopefully before the blood sport began. They were bloodthirsty, savage, murdering anarchists who had been without someone to beat them back into line for over 20 years. I couldn't even imagine the 'fun' they could get into now. I drove as long as I dared, passing Haven without pausing, seeing a couple of pale faces peek at us this time from open doorways. We rode until the sky was dangerously light, until my skin prickled with the warning of the oncoming dawn. Just as rays of light began crawling along the road before us, I jerked the handle bars, coming to an abrupt stop. Zeke leapt off the bike before it was even stopped, grabbing my hand and yanking me under the protective shade of the trees.

"Too close, Allie!" He admonished frantically as we ran a few yards into the woods. I didn't answer.

We sank into the earth and wasted no time letting our death-like sleep overtake us.

"What has gotten into you?" Zeke sighed as we shook the dirt off us the next morning. I shrugged, not meeting his eyes. At least he didn't appear to be angry. "Seriously, we should have stopped in Haven. At least for fuel. Remember, they've cleared away the cars on the road between here and Old Chicago." I froze for a second.

He was right. I didn't remember seeing a single vehicle. Sure, we had skirted completely around the evil city, but I knew there wouldn't be any chance of fuel for at least a half-night's drive, even pushing the engine as I had been.

"Sorry," I mumbled. I didn't want to admit what was going on in my head. Sure, I wanted to see Jackal, but that wasn't all of it. I still held the more realistic expectation in my head that he had reverted to the narcissistic, murdering asshole he had been when we'd first met, so I also felt a bit of apprehension towards our reunion. No, this anticipation had nothing to do with Jackal.

I was _Hungry_.

We had been traveling for so long, trying to save the humans, not eat them. We had been traveling from vampire city to human compound. I had not hunted in years. I had suppressed my instincts, ignored that desire to stalk and pounce and drain. Now, my demon was stirring, and for the first time since the end of our battle with Sarren, I was having difficulty keeping my demon in check.

Zeke eyed me, like he was seeing through me, and I finally looked at him, straightening my spine defiantly. Zeke continued to stare for a moment, then sighed in defeat. "I know." He said, so quietly that I almost didn't hear him. "God, I know." He turned his gaze toward our goal, and I could see a deep longing in his gaze that matched my own.

A breeze lifted my hair off my shoulders, and I took a deep breath, scenting the air to be sure we weren't surrounded by Rabids. The air was blessedly free of that dead wrongness that followed those monsters around. In that breath, though, I did smell something else, and broke into a grin. "Hey, come with me," I said abruptly, grabbing our pack off the ground from beside our bike. Zeke gave me a curious look, but didn't question me. We walked about half a mile deeper into the trees before we came upon a clearing. At the back of the clearing sat the rotting carcass of a cabin. I ignored it, heading straight for my target—a rust-coated pick-up truck half-sunk into the mud.

"How did you…?" Zeke started. I tapped my nose as I dipped the pack to the damp ground. I could tell this place was beautiful, once, before…before everything. I had smelled the coppery scent of the rust, and the wet smell of decaying wood, with the faint undertone of gasoline. Zeke shook his head and waked around the vehicle, inspecting it. I had managed to snake the hose into the gas line and pull some of the foul-tasting fluid out to begin trickling into the gas canister, when he barked a laugh. The truck creaked and bounced as he jumped into the bed, raising back up with two other full red canisters.

"Huh," I said. "Someone was prepared." Zeke frowned and glanced back over to the cabin. I knew what he was thinking. "We can't save everyone, Zeke," I said gently.

"I know, vampire girl. I just…If we'd been a little faster."

"Hey, for all we know, they up and left for Eden." I tried to reassure him with a smile, but I knew it was false hope. No one would have left a perfectly good vehicle with this much precious fuel. "Come on." I stood, pulling the hose free and placing the cap on the gas canister. "We need to get going again." Together, we trekked back to our bike and refueled.

A tense silence fell between us. Neither of us wanted to admit how close to the surface our demons were resting. I forced the bike to go as fast as possible, watching the world flash around us. We didn't speak, and we didn't stop. Somehow, we managed to make it into the city before dawn. We couldn't hear the chaos of a raider party, and we couldn't see lights through the broken buildings. Just to be safe, we stopped just before we made it to the flooded inner city. We pulled the bike inside a falling house and dug deep into a bare patch of earth behind the building, as quietly as possible—this city may have once been run by a vampire king, but that did not mean that a stray raider would hesitate to dig us up and drag us into the sun should they catch us.

We smelled the smoke as soon as we rose the next evening. Exchanging glances, we didn't hesitate to jump onto the bike, stashing our pack and the extra fuel upstairs.

It wasn't difficult to find them—a roaring crowd of lawless raiders definitely wasn't a stealthy group.

"Allie," Zeke said in a low voice.

"I know," I echoed, apprehension growing. I recognized where we were headed—The Floating Pit. Last time we had been there, I may have set the floating theater on fire, freed their 'entertainment' for the evening, and killed a bunch of their army. Luckily, we shouldn't draw too much attention to ourselfves—we were two hardened-looking vagrants with bloodlust in our eyes, in all black, decked out with various weapons, riding down the streets of the city like we were born on that bike.

We didn't meet anyone on the road, which could only mean we were late to the party. Parking the bike alongside a row of others, we walked through the tunnel and out into the deafening cacophony of the Pit.

My blood went cold.

The theater had been rebuilt, and there, on the stage, a man sat on a high-backed chair cackling at the scene unfolding within the wire-fenced pen in front of him. Inside the cage, a pack of wild dogs—Rabid dogs, I could smell—snarled and jumped at a secondary cage which held six frightened humans. I growled as the blood sport gave me horrific flashbacks. It didn't help that we stood in almost the exact place we had all those years ago. Zeke and I carefully pushed through the sweaty crowd of humans until we stood at the rail, closest to the stage.

"What d'ya think, _minions_ ," The human in the chair growled. "Should we do what they ask and show the little humans mercy?" The resounding "no!" made me flinch.

My demon snarled at the smell of enemy humans—food—so close, and I gripped the railing so hard I could feel it molding to my hand. I could see Zeke's spine too straight and too-stiff, and I watched as a tremor ran over his body from head to toe. It had been a long time since we had been this close to this many humans. A very long time. The raiders hemmed us in, bumping against us, so close we could have leaned over and drained them dry before they even noticed.

Suddenly, eight shots rang out, seeming to come from the water. One by one, the rabid dogs fell, and the crowd grew utterly silent.

"Well, well, well," A familiar voice rang out. Jackal had appeared from the water right behind the stage, and stood, dripping wet, eyes glowing bright and feral in the moonlight. "Do my eyes deceive me?" He stretched out his arms and made a dramatic sweeping gesture with his hand. "I had heard there was a party going on. I was hurt that I didn't get an invitation. And what do I find when I crash this party?" He stood beside the false king and gripped the human's shoulder. The man cried out in pain. "My own minions replacing their king with a cheap knock-off."

Another shot echoed across the water, and the human in the chair jerked and slumped forward, a hole on either side of his head, right above his ears.

You ain't king no more, Jackal!" a brave voice called out. "You didn't keep your end 'a the bargain." Several voices joined the first. I heard guns clicking, saw rifles aimed down at my blood brother, and couldn't suppress a warning growl. The sound echoes strangely, rolling across the Pit.

Jackal's eyes snapped to mine, and his cocky smirk was replaced with a wicked grin. "Sister." He said, loud enough for all to hear. "And you all remember the _other_ king you chose to follow once, which, need I remind you, ended with half of you filthy blood bags dead and drained."

As one, Zeke and I swung our legs over the railing and fell to the icy water below, swimming over and pulling ourselves onto the stage to stand beside him. Murmurs filled the stadium as the raiders began to realize their situation—three vampires and an unseen team of shooters? More guns were aimed at us—and, I saw—a handful of crossbows. "James," I said in a mocking tone. I couldn't hid my eager, hungry smile.

"Dear sister. Puppy." He said, flicking his eyes to Zeke. "I think there's about to be a bit of lead coming our way; I don't believe the meat sacks like me anymore."

"It will be difficult for them to shoot at us if they have no throats." I growled. I was losing control of my demon with all the imminent violence, ready to embrace it.

Jackal blinked in surprise, then roared with laughter. "Little sister! Finally a bloody vampire! And you, puppy, are you going to tell me we shouldn't kill the blood bags?"

Zeke glared at him. "Only those in…the cage?" He broke off, glancing back to the now-empty pen in the center of the platform.

"Already done. So, shell we?" He glared back up to the stands defiantly, pulling a fire axe from the holster on his back. "I think my minions need to be reminded how to fear vampires."

Zeke drew his machete and pulled a gun from his hip holster, and I unsheathed my katana, the metal gleaming dangerously in the night. I didn't get a chance to respond, though, before the first shots peppered the stage around us.

It had been twenty years since my blood brother had fought beside us, but that time seemed to melt away. We moved as a single unit, like appendages of the same feral beast. In a way, perhaps we were—just moving bodies of nothing but Hunger. Zeke and I had restrained ourselves, not hunting in decades. We had become proud of not giving into our demons. But this…this was different, primal, necessary. I could feel my blood thrumming as we moved—more like water than like bodies—across the stage in three directions, leaping over the railing and immediately falling on a human. I sank my teeth into his flesh and growled at the dark pleasure it brought me to drink in his life force and feel him go limp beneath me. The three of us danced through the crowd, slashing and hacking. The smarter humans took one look and threw down their weapons, running out of the stadium as quickly as they could. The demon urged me to take chase, but there was plenty here to distract me, humans that wished me harm, humans that would murder and pillage just for the fun of it. Humans I could kill. I couldn't wipe the maniacal grin from my face as blood spattered against me and enemies fell before me. Occasionally, the raiders would get so tight around me I couldn't swing my katana, but Jackal's sniper friends would intercede, and drop enough of them that I could finish off the knot. Once I maneuvered far to my right, and ended up back to back with Jackal, and we moved like we had never been apart, like we had trained together.

Finally, the three of us stood, dripping with gore, not even breathing hard, in a sea of bodies as the remainder of the fighting force gave up the hopeless fight and fled. I could feel my skin tingling where I had taken a few bullets as my body healed myself using the feast of blood I had just consumed. My coat was in tatters, slashed and shot. Zeke and I locked eyes, our blood still humming with the bloodlust and power and adrenaline, and he prowled over to me, holstering his gun and machete. I flicked the blood off my katana and swung it back up across my back. The next instant, we crashed together like waves, our bodies pressed close, our lips moving desperately over each other. I could taste blood on his lips, and that made the kiss all the sweeter. That energy had to have an outlet, and it would be wrong to chase those who had made the right choice to escape our wrath. And watching him move like that, his muscles flexing as he swung his blade and dodged those blows, the light in his eyes as he tore apart his enemies…it did something to me, made me feel like lightning running through me, like electricity from my center to the tips of my fingers. Blood lust and lust…fighting and sex…it was the same energy, really.

"Yes, yes, how romantic." Jackal said sarcastically as he picked his way back to the staircase leading out of the stadium. He shrugged out of his signature duster, which was about as worse for the wear as my own coat. "Now, if you two wouldn't mind unglue-ing yourselves, maybe we should leave the city before the stupid ones decide to have a second go, maybe once the sun is up?"

I pulled away, mood still full of that dark glee. "Jealous, James?" I teased, pulling Zeke along by the hand, the three of us walking together out of the Floating Pit.

He rolled his eyes. "As if, sister. I just don't feel like having my body dragged out of my resting place into the sun for me to be burned to a crisp. If you do, then, by all means, go right ahead and stay here making out over corpses."

I stuck my tongue out in a supremely childish gesture as I slipped my arms free of my coat, dropping it to the ground with a sickening plop, wrinkling my nose in disgust. "I really like that one." I complained.

Zeke laughed, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and pulling me against his side. "We'll get you a new one back at Eden. The way they sing our praise, they might even hand stitch you one if you asked."

I lightly punched his ribs. "Yeah, right, preacher boy." I looked around, noticing we weren't heading towards where we had stashed our things. "Where are we going, by the way?" I asked, turning to Jackal, who decided not to answer, his only response the curling up of one corner of his mouth in a knowing smirk. I shrugged, and we followed along.

After a few minutes we stopped. Jackal glanced around for a moment, then nodded. "Now we wait." I raised an eyebrow, expanding my senses, looking for signs of life. Surprisingly, this part of the city was dead silent. No raiders running in terror—not even a residual odor, meaning no one stayed here. No animals, even. Then, at the edge of my senses, I felt them. There was a van coming in from the east, and eight humans from the west; two of them were sure-footed and silent, the other six shuffling, like they were exhausted or injured. They must be the ones rescued from the cage. The van met us first. As soon as it stopped, the passenger door swung open and a woman with long, bright red hair in a wild mane around her head leaped out, running straight at Jackal and throwing herself in her arms. My jaw dropped as Jackal easily caught her, swinging her around before bending and kissing her hard. When he pulled away, there was a real smile on his face—not a grin, or a smirk, but a _smile_.

"You got a lot of nerve, Jackal," she said, pulling back and glaring at him, the expression softened by the smile she couldn't quite get rid of. She had a strange accent, kind of lilting, but sharp. She smacked his chest before standing with her hands firmly on her hips. "All those promises about not fightin' unless you have to and stayin' out of the brawl, an' you go and pull a stunt like that."

"Anwen, I—" Jackal started, actually sounding contrite.

The woman, though, ignored him, turning to Zeke and me in welcome. My face was screwed up in shock at seeing Jackal apparently affectionate, and I could feel Zeke's own surprise, but she just smiled warmly, sticking out her hand. "Hello, I'm Anwen. You must be Jackal's sister, Allison. Which would make you Ezekiel." We each shook her proffered hand.

I turned to Jackal then. "James, have you gone soft on us?" I teased.

He glared at me. "Sister," He answered, sounding like he forced the words out through gritted teeth. "Meet my wife, Anwen."

My eyes widened, flicking back and forth between them. His wife? His _human_ wife? Heartbeat, blush, warmth radiating off her—definitely human. She didn't appear phased.

"Congratulations," Zeke said from behind me. He gently squeezed my hand, remembering our conversation earlier and guessing correctly at my unwanted feelings of jealousy stirring up again.

"I didn't know you had it in you, brother," I said, my voice subdued, a bit awed, quite proud. "But congratulations. And, it is very good to meet you, Anwen." She bobbed her head.

The other party joined us then, limping around a corner. The back of the van opened, and three men sprang out, one carrying a large white bag with a red cross on the side, and the driver, another red-haired woman, exited the vehicle. As the driver turned to the side, I sucked in a huge breath. She was pregnant—very, very pregnant, her belly bulging tight against the dress she wore. She waddled over to the group of ragged refugees they had rescued. One of them was a young girl, about 7. The rest appeared to be more or less healthy, maybe a little underfed, around 25-30 years old, 2 men and 3 women. None of them looked hurt, despite the haunted look in their eyes. It was a look I recognized; they had seen horrors.

The lead man stumbled, and I moved without thinking, speeding across with inhuman speed to catch him. He jerked out of my grasp as I corrected him, and his eyes widened in fear. I spread my hands disarmingly and took a couple steps back. "Vampire!" He gasped.

"I just didn't want you to hurt yourself," I said in a soothing voice. It was a practiced ease I held. Anytime we had come across humans, it was the same the moment they discovered monsters stood in their midst. I was used to it. Didn't mean that it didn't hurt me every time it happened.

"It's okay, Chris, they saved us." The woman behind him said, squeezing his shoulder and giving me a sad, tired smile. "Thank you, all of you, for that." I dipped my head and returned to Zeke's side as they were checked over for injuries. "They caught us a few days ago just outside the city. We thought it was over, and that we were dead. Then these two got rid of the dogs and freed us from that awful cage." She cupped one of the sniper's cheeks lovingly. "Not all of us lasted even that long, though. There were two others…" Her face fell, and the others looked away. They didn't have to say it. Zeke and I knew full-well the blood-thirsty tendencies of the raider army.

I walked over to the little girl, kneeling in front of her and smiling, hoping I didn't look too awful covered in blood. "Hi there." I said quietly. "My name's Allison. What's yours?"

The girl didn't look too frightened, which was a good sign. "MaryAnn." She answered in a small voice.

"That's a very pretty name. Are you hurt at all, MaryAnn?" She shrugged, and I raised an eyebrow, making her squirm under my gaze until she finally nodded. I knew she was lying to me; I could smell it on her. "I thought so. Where are you hurt?" She grimaced, then sat down on the cracked pavement. She pulled off her right boot, then carefully peeled away her sock. The smell of infection grew stronger, stinging my nose and catching the attention of the other two vampires. Jackal gestured to the man with the white bag as he and Zeke joined me.

"I got it caught in a fence." She told me with big, scared eyes.

I gently took her foot and turned it a bit, making her hiss in pain. "Sorry," I murmured. There was a five-inch gash from the bottom of her ankle up the side of her leg. It was a few days old, at least, and it hadn't been cleaned. It was a nasty wound. Someone from her group gasped over my shoulder as they saw. "Why didn't you tell anyone? Your parents?"

"My parents died." She said in an empty voice. "And I didn't want anyone to worry about me. We had a lot of other stuff to worry about."

I took her hand and waited until she was looking at me. "Never be afraid to worry someone if you're hurt. Keeping you safe is important, too." She nodded as the man with the first aid kit knelt beside her, taking a look at the wound.

He glanced up at Jackal and shook his head. "I don't have what I need to work on this." He said in a low voice that held the same strange accent as Anwen. "She needs a doctor—a proper doctor, and medicine, and rest. None of which we can give her on the road."

Jackal seemed lost in thought a moment before turning to me. "Would they let her in?" He asked. I could hear the underlying question—would they let _him_ in?

I gave him a small smile. "Everyone here is welcome in Eden." I answered. I frowned then. "Timing might be an issue. It took us two full nights to get to the city, and that was red-lining the engine of the bike the whole way here. With the van, it would probably be slower, maybe 3 nights? We could always stop in Haven, but I'm not sure what their medical situation is like. It wouldn't hurt to ask Joshua for help. The worst he could say is for us to drive another day to the checkpoint." Zeke nodded in agreement. "We won't make it far tonight." I glanced up, feeling the night half-gone already. "We might make it to Haven tomorrow night, if we left right now, but we would be pushing it, and Jackal, Zeke, and I might have to leave you just before the city."

"Haven?" Jackal asked.

"Outpost of Eden. They've expanded since you've been there." I answered. "They have six—or, at least, that's what Joshua said. They've made some other changes, but you'll have to see them to believe them. And apparently, the three of us are sort of heroes over there."

"Eden?" One of the five ragged strangers asked in an awed tone. "It's real? Like, really real?" I nodded, and she pressed a hand to her chest, closing her eyes in relief. "Then our journey wasn't for nothing."

Zeke and I shared a look. We knew that feeling as well. "It's better than you imagined," Zeke said, eyes wistful as he remembered. "Especially now that the cure is circulating, the—"

"The what?!" One of the men—Chris—demanded, eyes wide.

"The cure," I answered. "The cure for Rabidism." The five humans were silent a moment. "Please, tell me you've heard news of it. We've been trying to spread the word for two decades. Tell me our efforts haven't been wasted."

"There's a cure." He whispered. "That was real, too."

"We heard tell of it, but we don't really keep company with other humans, or with vampires. We tend to keep to ourselves. Besides, there've been rumors of a cure since I was a baby." The woman from earlier said.

"It is real," I assured her. "We helped the scientists in Eden perfect it twenty years ago, and we've been spreading it ever since—to the vampire cities and human compounds, and even the occasional small group that we ran across that didn't try to gut us."

"You helped create the cure?" If it was possible, their eyes grew rounder.

"We helped discover it, along with…with another." I answered. It was still an open wound, hard to speak about Kanin—hard to describe our relationship to others not in-the-know on vampire politics. "That isn't the point. The point here, is that we have a safe place just a couple days' drive from here, you've got a working vehicle, we've got a working bike, and we know where to the medical attention MaryAnn needs. So, you have to make a decision: will you go to Eden with us?" I hoped they'd say yes. It would be so much easier if they said yes. But I knew it was difficult for humans to trust vampires. Hell, it was difficult for _me_ to trust most vampires. The unanimous "Yes," from the rescued humans echoed against the buildings around us. I turned to Jackal. "And you? Would you walk into Eden with us? Again?"

He held my eyes, chewing on his words for a moment. I realized he was considering everything he'd done against the citizens of the city, and I could see regret in his face. With a jolt, I recognized the change in him that I couldn't put my finger on; he had grown more…human. I was glad to see that piece of him finally. "Lead the way, sister."

I nodded. "Good. We just need to pick up our bike and pack. Do you need to pick anything up?"

Jackal glanced to the driver who shrugged. "We're about out of petrol, but we haven't the time to siphon off any 'a these automobiles." Did all of Jackal's party have that lilting accent? I'd never heard anything like it before. And what on earth was _petrol_?

"We have a little extra fuel. And I know where we can find more, and an extra vehicle, possibly, if we need it." Zeke spoke up from behind me, answering one of my questions. My brow arched in question before I understood. The cabin in the woods. "That's kind of far—a full night's ride, almost to Haven—do you all have the fuel to get that far?" The driver nodded in affirmation, rubbing her bulging stomach. "Alright, then let's get to it."

Jackal moved around to the back of the van, and pulled out his own bike, to my surprise, and then another. The rest of the group piled into the van, while Jackal, Anwen, and the two snipers—they were almost identical; they had to be brothers—mounted the bikes in pairs. Together, we set off back towards the Pit. A few raiders met us on the way, but took one look and turned tail, cursing us as they went. I grinned predatorily at that. I easily picked our bike out of the row of them—a little dustier, but better taken care of, no awful spikes anywhere like the raiders liked to decorate with. I swung my legs over it and gripped the handlebars lovingly.

"Should we leave you two alone?" Jackal teased. That was the Jackal I remembered.

"Oh, shut up, _James_." I shot back, grinning at him.

"He's not wrong…" Zeke grumbled as he mounted the bike behind me. "Spend more energy on that bike than me sometimes." Jackal barked a laugh, catching the quiet utterance, but I ignored them both. I half-turned my head to meet Zeke's gaze. "Ready." He assured.

"Ready here." Jackal said, the snipers on their bike and the driver of the van giving us a thumbs-up. Taking the lead, I navigated our way out of the city with ease, only stopping for our things before leaving the towering buildings behind and gunning it towards Eden—towards home.


End file.
